Sandahl Bergman
Sandahl Bergman | |
|---|---|
Bergman in 2011 | |
| Born | 14 November 1951 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. |
| Occupations | Actress, dancer |
| Years active | 1970–2003 |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Spouse | Josh Taylor (divorced) |
Sandahl Bergman (born November 14, 1951[1][2]) is an American actress and dancer. Trained as a dancer, she first gained recognition performing on Broadway[3] before transitioning to film roles. She attracted early film attention for her appearance in the dance sequence “Air Erotica” in Bob Fosse’s film All That Jazz (1979). Bergman achieved wider recognition for her role as Valeria, Queen of Thieves, in the fantasy film Conan the Barbarian (1982), for which she received a Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress.[4]
Before her film career, Bergman appeared in several stage productions and musicals, including Broadway productions such as Pippin, A Chorus Line, and Dancin'. Known for her athletic dancing and physical screen roles, she transitioned from stage work into film during the late 1970s and early 1980s.[5]
Early life and family
Bergman was born November 14, 1951, in Kansas City, Missouri.[6] She was raised in Shawnee Mission, Kansas.[4] Her parents were Howard Bergman and Polly Bergman, and she had a younger sister, Nanci Lee.[7] The family lived in Prairie Village, Kansas.[8]
Bergman attended Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village.[8] She began studying dance at the age of five, training in classical ballet, jazz, tap, and flamenco, and later studied flamenco with dancer José Greco.[9] She began performing at Starlight Theatre in Kansas City at age twelve and later joined a touring production of West Side Story at age sixteen.[4]
Standing 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m), Bergman has often been described as athletic and statuesque.[6][10]
Career
Stage career
Bergman began performing as a dancer in Kansas City, appearing in productions at Starlight Theatre as a teenager.[8] At age sixteen she joined a touring production of West Side Story.[4]
Early in her career she also worked as a dancer on television variety programs including The Dean Martin Show, The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, and Donny & Marie.[3]
She later moved to New York City and appeared in several Broadway productions. Choreographer Bob Fosse noticed her and cast her as a replacement dancer in Pippin. She had a secondary lead in the stage version of the film Gigi in 1973, and later appeared in Mack & Mabel, and as Judy in the "new New York cast" of A Chorus Line when many of the original actors left the show in 1977.[1][3]
Fosse cast Bergman again in his critically acclaimed dance concert/musical Dancin' (1978), which featured many of the leading dancers on Broadway at the time.[11][12]
Film and television
Early in her career she appeared as a dancer in the film Mame (1974).<[8]
Bergman's movie career began in 1978 with a small role in the television film How to Pick Up Girls!. She followed that with the Bob Fosse film All That Jazz (1979), in which she was a featured performer in the "Take Off with Us" sequence.[13][4] In the film Xanadu (1980), she appears as one of the nine immortal Muses during the opening song "I'm Alive" by ELO, as well as in the film's final title number "Xanadu".
Bergman's participation in Xanadu also led indirectly to her eviction from her apartment in New York and subsequent relocation to California. She had been subletting her apartment in New York in violation of a clause in her rental contract, and during the four months she spent in California filming the movie, her landlord became aware of the arrangement. Bergman later said she did not return to New York and instead had friends pack and ship her belongings to her.[3]
Her best-known role is playing Valeria opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in the fantasy film Conan the Barbarian (1982). For her performance she received the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress and the Saturn Award for Best Actress. Because no stunt women could be found to match her size, Bergman performed her own stunt work.[14] Preparation for the role included extensive physical conditioning and sword training.[5] She later recalled the demanding filming conditions, stating that she nearly lost a finger during a sword-fighting scene.[14]
In 1984 she played the title role in the post-apocalyptic comedy adventure She. The following year she appeared as Queen Gedren in Red Sonja (1985). Although she had initially been offered the title role, she chose instead to play the villain.[15]
Bergman subsequently appeared in a number of low-budget films, including the comedy Stewardess School (1986), the post-apocalyptic film Hell Comes to Frogtown (1988), and the neo-noir film Raw Nerve (1991). Other appearances include a lunar base officer in Airplane II: The Sequel, the music video "Heavy Metal Love" by the band Helix, and the Fred Olen Ray film Possessed by the Night (1994). She also made guest appearances on television series including Hart to Hart and performed in a dance sequence choreographed by Stanley Donen in an episode of Moonlighting.
Her most recent film work came in 2003 when she appeared as a dancer in the film adaptation of The Singing Detective.
Bergman also worked as an instructor for the FIRM series of exercise videos in the 1980s.[16]
Bergman later retired from acting but has occasionally appeared at science-fiction conventions.[17]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Mame | Dancer | Uncredited |
| 1979 | All That Jazz | Principal Dancer | |
| 1980 | Xanadu | Muse 1 | |
| 1982 | Conan the Barbarian | Valeria | Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress Saturn Award for Best Actress |
| 1982 | Airplane II: The Sequel | Officer #1 | |
| 1984 | She | She | |
| 1984 | Getting Physical | Nadine Cawley | Television movie |
| 1985 | The Ferret | Chandra | Television movie |
| 1985 | Red Sonja | Queen Gedren | Nominated—Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress |
| 1986 | Stewardess School | Wanda Polanski | |
| 1987 | Programmed to Kill | Samira | |
| 1987 | Kandyland | Harlow Divine | |
| 1988 | Hell Comes to Frogtown | Spangle | |
| 1991 | Raw Nerve | Gloria Freedman | |
| 1992 | In the Arms of a Killer | Nurse Henninger | Television movie |
| 1992 | Loving Lulu | Lulu | |
| 1992 | Revenge on the Highway | Python | Television movie |
| 1994 | Lipstick Camera | Lilly Miller | |
| 1994 | TekWar: TekJustice | Valkyrie | Television movie |
| 1994 | Possessed by the Night | Peggy Hansen | Direct-to-video |
| 1994 | Inner Sanctum II | Sharon Reed | |
| 1994 | Night of the Archer | Marla Miles | |
| 1995 | Ice Cream Man | Marion Cassera | Direct-to-video |
| 1996 | The Assault | Helen | |
| 1997 | Sorceress II: The Temptress | Virginia | |
| 2003 | The Singing Detective | Dancer |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970–1973 | The Dean Martin Comedy World | Golddigger | 50 episodes |
| 1978 | How to Pick Up Girls! | Blond jogger | TV movie |
| 1982 | Hart to Hart | Miranda | Episode: "From the Depths of My Heart" |
| 1986 | Moonlighting | Female Dancer | Episode: "Big Man on Mulberry Street" |
| 1988 | Dirty Dancing | Delia | Episode: "Save the Last Dance for Me" |
| 1989 | Cheers | Judy Marlowe | Episode: "Send in the Crane" |
| 1989 | Hard Time on Planet Earth | Danielle Spencer | Episode: "Battle of the Sexes" |
| 1990 | Freddy's Nightmares | Ginger 'Tracker' Morgan | 2 episodes |
| 1990 | Designing Women | Davida Daniels | Episode: "Nowhere to Run To" |
| 1991 | Swamp Thing | Sienna | Episode: "Tremors of the Heart" |
| 1992 | Dark Justice | Meredith | Episode: "Lead Rain" |
| 1993 | Murder, She Wrote | Sgt. Daisy Kenny | Episode: "The Petrified Florist" |
| 1994 | Silk Stalkings | Sgt. Steele | Episode: "The Scarlet Shadow" |
| 1994 | Under Suspicion | Petrella Gideon | Episode: "Serial Killer - Part 1" |
| 1999 | Sliders | Lead Female Dancer | Episode: "The Java Jive" |
References
- ^ a b Profile, ibdb.com; accessed August 15, 2015.
- ^ "U.S., Public Records Index, 1950–1993, Volume 1 (entry for Sandahl J. Bergman)". Lehi, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 2010. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
- ^ a b c d Butler, Robert W. (May 6, 1995). "Savoring the Heights, Enduring the Lows". The Kansas City Star. p. 53.
- ^ a b c d e "Conan's sidekick 'real normal' woman who is ready to become big star". The Columbia Record. May 21, 1982. p. 44.
- ^ a b "Sandahl Bergman's physical education". USA Today. March 20, 1984. p. 35.
- ^ a b Johnson, G. Allen (March 22, 2019). "'She' is an ode to butt-kicking '80s action star Sandahl Bergman". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on September 26, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ Kansas, U.S., City and County Census Records, 1919–1961 for Sandahl J. Bergman.
- ^ a b c d "Starlight to Broadway for Sandahl Bergman". The Kansas City Times. December 27, 1973. p. 14D.
- ^ "Conan star profile". Moncton Times and Transcript. May 15, 1982. p. 41.
- ^ Child, Ben (March 11, 2020). "Max von Sydow could transform the trashiest pulp fantasy flick into a cultural touchstone". The Guardian. Archived from the original on March 12, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
- ^ Brunner, Jeryl (March 19, 2018). "Ann Reinking on Bob Fosse and an Epic Event Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Dancin'". Parade.
- ^ Wasson, Sam (2013). Fosse. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
- ^ King, Susan (April 4, 2019). "Chita Rivera, Carol Burnett and others talk about working with Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ a b Cheryl Tucker (May 14, 1982). "Sandahl sizzles to stardom". The News Tribune. p. 50.
- ^ Mell, Eila (2015). Casting Might-Have-Beens: A Film by Film Directory of Actors Considered for Roles Given to Others. McFarland.
- ^ Krucoff, Carol (March 5, 1991). "Battle the Bulge with Home Exercise Videos". The Washington Post.
- ^ Johnson, G. Allen (March 22, 2019). "'She' is an ode to butt-kicking '80s action star Sandahl Bergman". San Francisco Chronicle.